Allyson says...what a sex tape!

It's very rare that I walk away actually thinking the evening was a total success but I can honestly say it was a blast from start to finish. To start off the show, I spoke about what's it's like to be in the public eye and how some private matters end up public. I followed this dramatic speech with a short video which showcased me and my boyfriend in our version of a sex tape. I'll be adding this to youtube soon...it was freaking hilarious, sorry Mom and Dad. Now on to the Open Mic part, the room was packed with people standing along the wall in the back. People even travelled from Baltimore for this event. There were a lot of "return customers" along with some new faces. I feel like most people tend to show up a few minutes before showtime though. I think it's because people get a kick out of me trying to organize a show in 10 minutes and know that I am a sucker and will let them on stage even though they are late. Well, it's probably more like they have jobs and a life but I am going to go with it being about me. I asked the audience if they were up for something new and thankfully they were. Basically I created my own Improv Game and I wanted to test the waters last night. I knew, it could either be a complete disaster or a success. The game is called "Allyson Says" and it is self explanatory. I called up 10 performers and asked them to form 2 lines. Then I started a 2 person scene and would randomly freeze it changing the scene in any direction I felt like (endow emotions, animal characteristics, gibberish, alphabet game, film styles, etc.). It actually worked!! What I liked the best about this was that I was able to get everyone stage time which has been my biggest concern. I want single improv-ers to have an outlet and a venue to perform and I think this is the way to do it while keeping the audience entertained and moving the show forward. We played 3 rounds of this game during the evening. Since I have never formally trained in Improv I'm sure there are some kinks I need to work out but overall it worked and I'm thrilled about it. I also had 7 groups enter to perform: Loser Josh, Heavy Wet Sectional (b'more troupe), I Miss Blue Ray (debut), Ozymandis, Tara's Kids, plus 2 one man skits by Giovanni and Matthew's mother talks all things politics & indigestion. As always I invited newbies to come up and give improv a shot and we had a couple of girls who decided to get on stage. Kudos for that ladies. We ended the evening with good ol' Lines From A Hat. I'm travelling in October so the next Improv Open Mic Night is slated for Thursday November 6. Sign-up is from 7-7:30 pm Show will begin at 8:05 pm
Thanks for the continued support of this event. I can't believe it's almost 2 years running....
See you in November!!